- Image via Wikipedia
A very good friend of many years has found my blog. And she told me so in instant messaging. Uh – oh - my jig is up. I have now to be more careful dispensing BS around here. My ombudsman has arrived.
Let’s call her Marya
“Jan, are you there?”
Oh, I’m here all right. Wassup?
“Why are you invisible on YM?”
Ah, I don’t want to be bothered. But you can IM me anytime though.
“Jan, are you famous now?”
Hell no. Are you kidding me? Why do you ask that?
“Why are you making yourself inaccessible?”
“Because I need to get things done, that’s why. What’s up?”
That’s me talking with Marya a very close friend of nearly 30 years. She’s found me at last. And my blog. She read a few posts, looked at the comments, and chatted with me on YM.
So what’s the verdict?
She’s a mean writer back in college. Back then, we both wrote for the college paper. Today, she has a great career in the government, a junior executive specializing in creating reports to make the top brass look smart. Intelligent, funny, and compassionate, that’s my friend.
But Marya did not leave a comment. She noted though that I have been replying to every comment made on this blog.
Shorthand of friendship
Translation: I‘ve not been too accessible in email and text messaging, but I make myself accessible to every Tom, Dick and Jane in the blogosphere.
Touche.
Asked her to write a blog of her own. Her young daughter has one – why can’t she? And she said about not having the courage to put herself out there for everybody to see. “I’d feel like I’m naked.”
Translation: I’m just here curious to see what has become of you all these years you made yourself inaccessible to us. And whether you’d have the guts to make a fool of yourself here in your blog.
Awts.
More than anybody else, it’s Marya’s vote of confidence I’d live for. She knows me like the back of her hand. She knows when I’m full of BS. She knows how to coax me out of the doldrums. She knows me full well.
OMG. What if she had read my blog is in the running for the top 10 influential blogs of 2009? She’d slap her knees and laugh out loud. I will not hear the end of it.
This is bad timing. Why can’t she postpone her visitation until September when this brouhaha will have been over.
Tell me I’m not a sucky blogger
Her initial reaction about my blog? Nothing. Except for the cryptic, “Your writing style has not changed at all.” Do I make sense? Do my posts need a rewrite?. Silence. She changed the topic.
Well, I know what she will do: she’d visit me here every now and then, hold a post against the light for closer inspection. She’d do that – she’s that methodical – until she has sufficient facts to extol my efforts or enough evidence to hang me.
And what’s crazy about having great friends is that they have that power to tell me anything.
Yeah – including how my blog sucks.
High Priestess of common sense
But here’s the good part: she has that strange way making it sound trivial, a minor hiccup, a temporary displacement in the cosmos. Why? Well, my dear, Marya is the High Priestess of common sense and she’s quite adept at screwing back my head squarely on my shoulders.
That she might find me guilty of suckiness will not change the dynamics of our friendship. That’s how it works with us. A sucky blog will not undo 30 years of friendship for sure.
How about you, guys? Who’s keeping you honest when it comes to blogging? Have you found your own ombudsman yet?
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=64f88184-0905-4d19-8e5e-d828a39f8db4)
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
{ 39 comments… read them below or add one }
hehehe!
that’s the problem of having friends… they can tell you anything!
but that’s the beauty of it too!
no hiding, no pretentions… it is nice to have a real friend… I suppose
the only friend who really knows me vanished into thin air years ago
as for the question of what’s keeping me honest… aside from the fictions and other made-up stories and jokes, I can say that I am 99% honest in my posts.
the 1%? that’s for the exaggerations
Roy’s last blog post..Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs – The Final List!
She’s watching over you, Roy – looking over your shoulders. When we chuckle over your one-liners, trust me, she’s there crinkling up her nose in pleasure… Oh, darn! Your top 10 is already complete. You did not tell me. Well, checking out now if there’s a surprise in your lineup.
I don’t think it’s me who’s being watched… of course, I could be a part of it, the main focus I guess would still be you… your reactions, response, rebuttal, etc.
Roy’s last blog post..Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs – The Final List!
Hmmm, sometimes guys…
It’s kind of fascinating to read your discussions!
Yeah, and it doesn’t take lots of brain power to figure us out, I am sure. Even with candle power you girls can have a crack at us, Snow.
With lots to spare.
to be honest, after three or four nested replies, I tend to forget what we were discussing in the first place
[rq=1772,0,blog][/rq]Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs – The Final List!
Keep forgetting that. Ahahaha. Got to be on my best behaviour nga pala.
I got my bestfriend who’s interested in computers and techy stuff but he’s not into blogging. If he’ll read my blog he will definitely praise my work. He has difficulty in expressing himself. but still he’s one of the best
JDSalinger’s last blog post..Top Things that a Blogger needs
That’s cool. If he finally gets to read you, then you can perhaps seek his help in the other aspects of blogging: tweaking under the hood. Or perhaps he can help you spread the word out about your cool blog among his other friends. Every little thing helps. What are friends for, right?
Of course, your writing style won’t change—because that’s YOU. My husband motivated me to start my blog, he’s also my editor (sometimes when he’s available to do it), and my most honest critique . But he never criticizes , instead he makes suggestions to improve. My best friend is my husband. I have a very good friend (although not best ) and she’s a very famous columnist /writer in the Philippines–she reads my blog but does not comment on my posts. But she sends me messages that she loves my writing and the content. HInt: She is a lawyer, book editor and columnist /writer for Philippine Times.
So when real “professional writers (not flash-in-the-pan book authors or self-acclaimed “writers”) compliment me, I feel good. Although I still don’t think I am good , the feeling of being praised by someone who really is an authority of the craft is really something great.
bingkee’s last blog post..LET’S TAKE A RIDE IN SUBURBIA
Yeah, one thing about friends – they prefer to be in the background, choosing to make their presence felt only every so often. That’s a wonderful friend you’ve got there, Bingkee.
Agree! They’re like Sith Lords, agree?
Rob Angeles’s last blog post..How To Track Your Expenses Using A Twitter Tool
Indeed – some of them are Sith Lords.
Ay mali—error–Philippine Star pala not Philippine Times. She was my classmate in UP who graduated cum laude and got her law degree in UP and finished masters from Sorbonne U. in France. She’s really a darling. Her writing style is actually a little bit similar to mine. We both love Jessica Zafra.
[rq=2711,0,blog][/rq]A RECIPE FOR SAVINGS
“Your writing style has not changed at all.” —
haha! is it true?
AD’s last blog post..What I am on on Film Studies?
Hi Ad,
Well, buddy. Maybe that’s good news for me. If she meant I deteriorated I would have an earful by now, that’s for sure. But that phrase is so typical of her. She has this talent of keeping me on my toes.
Personally, I don’t know. It has changed in look, I’m sure. I write with lots of sub-headings nowadays. And my writing has become scannable as per requirement by the blogging gurus. Ahahaha. And the serial comma I have little use of these days compared when I was writing for the college paper. You know – numbered and bulleted points.
Maybe she’s referring to the voice or the tone. Or maybe she’s just biding her time before she delivers her verdict.
Can you post some of your college newspaper articles?
just kidding, i’m just curious! hehe!
AD’s last blog post..What I am on on Film Studies?
Two words: que barbaridad. It’s hard enough to build a readership, Ad. Bringing those articles back is the height of folly. lols
I would like to second Ad’s suggestion
[rq=2151,0,blog][/rq]Complaints are gifts from customers
Ahhh reminds me of my mentors who up to this day slaps my shadow and send a devastating email with the first line saying “You’re kidding right?”. Friends are awesome and receiving comments from them is great. I believe this is the ROI of relationships.
Rob Angeles’s last blog post..How To Track Your Expenses Using A Twitter Tool
Ah mentors. But which ones are you referring to? The ones we have outgrown or the ones we strive the hardest to surpass but cannot simply because they have the biggest shoes to fill. Ahahaha. But friends are great. We can relax with them. We can pull of the strangest buffoonery there is and yet at the end of the day we are still forgiven. We still rock in their eyes, but of course only after having been served and eaten our humble pies. “,)
LOL! The hardest to surpass grrrrrrrrrrr. They’re like moms, still treat you like a kid even if you already counted achievements.
[rq=792,0,blog][/rq]How To Track Your Expenses Using A Twitter Tool
Some of us are still kids. Only the price of our toys have changed.
ahahha! this is one hell of a dramatic post big bro! ow, i found my ombudsman obviously, at ikaw yun, ahhaha! remember? and that is the beauty as roy said, of having good true friends, they can tell you that your blog sucks!!! and just laugh out loud about it, ehehe!
[rq=1298,0,blog][/rq]Dont’ Vote on May 2010!!! No To Con-A** Holes!
It’s you who suggested we somewhat go for each others throat in a manner of speaking. It’s your idea – to spice things up. I agreed. But you kept putting it off. So when the opportunity presented itself, I pounced on it.
I’m glad we have survived that episode and that you’re far more mature than I initially thought you were. And now, the downside is that I have no more surprises up my sleeve. I think you’ve a fairly good idea now how I operate. Darn! Ahahaha.
ahahha! i was pretty sure that we will survive that episode during that time. i guess i have to roll up my tongue now, having suggested that one to spice up a blog? ehehhe.
[rq=1673,0,blog][/rq]Dont’ Vote on May 2010!!! No To Con-A** Holes!
Thanks. Feel free to drop the bomb anytime. This blog comes equipped with bomb shelter anyway.
thanks for the invitation!
(ay! di pala para sa akin yun)
[rq=1780,0,blog][/rq]Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs – The Final List!
Well, I can use some friendly fire every now and then, Roy.
Personally, I feel uneasy when my friends read my blogs. I don’t know why. Fortunately, only 2 or 3 of my friends know my blogs’ addresses.
I’m always honest with my post; although there are some things that I take into consideration so that if ever my friends do read my posts, they won’t get offended unintentionally. Sometimes they tease me that I’m a “career blogger” now (to which I know they tell me that in order to tease me and exaggerate things). Being teased like that gives me the goosebumps, I don’t know why.
I think I’m more comfortable when my online friends read my blogs compared to my friends in real life
Friends in real life know a great deal about us. Perhaps this is where the bit of discomfort comes from. In my experience, I have kept my blogging from my friends. Even my family – they just discovered it lately.
I received a WordCamp tshirt from abroad. Something I won in a Top Commentator blog contest. They were quite surprised there are prizes to be won in the internet – they’re big on telenovela at home. And that there was even prize money – $15 – that went with the tshirt. So I had to explain what’s a top commentator contest. And naturally what’s a blog. And why do I have one. Even if I had explained it, I am still not sure if they will recognize one even if this hits them in the face. Ahahaha. Kidding.
My experience is that I had a lot of practice with online friends. The good and not so good. Nothing will surprise me anymore – or I’d like to think that nothing will surprise me anymore. Friends may have the goods on me, yes. But hey, I have a blog. They had better be good friends. Or they will never hear the end of it from my bully pulpit. Ahahahaha. No, I will never do that. I’m just fantasizing.
Thanks for sharing, Carlo.
@Roy: Wala na. Naunahan na kayo ng US Library of Congress. Or CDC yata un? You know – Center for Disease Control. Kasi daw baka maka-influence pa ng mga budding young writers kawawa naman ang sining ng pagsulat. Ahahaha… Roy, let bygones be bygones – sabi nga nila. “,)
medyo nawala yata ako dito Jan, hehe…
I’m tracing this, pero di ko mapinpoint… but the blue carpet is very tempting to reply at
[rq=2418,0,blog][/rq]Complaints are gifts from customers
That’s my reply to your suggestion I cough up samples of my college articles.
There’s no more thread upstairs so I put it down here.
I see, kaya pala di ko nasundan. para dun sa taas na rely pala hehe…
[rq=2777,0,blog][/rq]A father’s dilemma
well first, i can understand her when she said that she feels naked if she blogged about her life. i think i had the same feeling before. and i still do now, so as much as possible i keep many things private, even from my own family and my friends.
but…i have such a resourceful sister, she eventually found me and linked me to her own blog. So now, even my relatives abroad can read my blog! so to answer your last question, my ombudsMEN are definitely my sis and cousins. I just hope none of my friends find my blog. haha.
i still keep a diary/journal though so more sensitive topics are off limits to everyone’s eyes.
see you around!
Indeed you’re a stickler for privacy. Can’t even find a link to your blog. And your Twitter bio profile has N/A in it.
Nice touch – it’s your own family that’s keeping you honest. Don’t get too comfy about your friends not finding out about your blog though… Anyway, can I take a peek at your blog? Promise, it will be only for three minutes. “,)
When my blog was not out in the public and was purely personal I can write everything I want and throw BS at everyone but now it’s out on the public I am careful with my words. I don’t let personal stuff or too personal things get out in the open because everyone can read it.
When my ex of 11 years ago found my blog and began stalking I was arggggg so I blocked him. Lol that’s why I have to write that go away post.
It’s good you have an ombudsman I think I need one my writing sucks and nobody dare tell me because I’m the queen of outburst LOL! They just love how I entertain them with my writing in spite of the grammatical errors and whatevers LOL! But if I were you in that situation I think I’d melt with embarrassment .
I am also invisible to everyone in my YM except for my sister and hunny who are both out of the country.
.-= earthlingorgeous´s last blog ..What Philippine Independence Day Are You Talking About? =-.
when i posted my short stories at a friendster blog, a friend commented, “Wow! I didn’t know you write short stories”. Oh well, now she knows. As a matter of fact, we wrote poems and short stories in high school. Not one got published in the school paper because there was no space then for fiction. I think we were probably influenced by the Dead Poets Society. Had problems holding our tears when it was shown in class.
As to blogging, i still kept separate sites for friends and for my online connections. Only 4 or 5 buddies knows all (or at least majority) of my sites. But whereever it is, those who really knew me will see that it is still me.
.-= ceblogger´s last blog ..Not In My Blogroll =-.